Men's Tennis gears up for ECACs

On Thurs., Oct. 2, eight members of the men's tennis team left for the four-day long Eastern Collegiate Athletic Conference (ECAC) Tournament at Princeton University. The first team event of the season, the competition includes the top 16 teams on the east coast, and will be the first true test for the Bulldogs.

"This weekend is going to be huge," team captain Mark Warnken, TD '98, said. Warnken is the third singles player on the team. "I'm very optimistic for the team. We have more depth this year than in the past."

At this year's tournament, the team aspires to pass the quarterfinals, where they have been eliminated for the past three years. "Harvard and Virginia Tech are favored to be the top two teams, but both are within reach for us," coach Alex Dorato said. Dorato is in his 13th year on the coaching staff, and his sixth as head coach.

The team opened its season two weeks ago at the Swarthmore Invitational with wins in three of four divisions for both singles and doubles. "We all played really well," David Beynet, ES '99, said. "It was a real confidence-booster."

Last weekend, Yale hosted its own invitational tournament. While the Bulldogs didn't win any divisions, Dorato felt that his players "had a very strong showing." Unfortunately, Yale has already lost one man from its twelve-player roster. Reid Lerner, BR '99, recently vacated the number four position, leaving Warnken without a doubles partner. Lerner needed just four more points to win his match at the Invitational when he fell and dislocated his shoulder. He will likely miss the remainder of the fall campaign, and his injury will spark competition for his empty slot.

Jonathan Beardsley, DC '99, has played in the number one position for nearly two years and "will definitely keep that spot unless something happens," according to coach Dorato. The rest of the team's ladder is not as fixed.

Dorato believes that the ladder will "keep changing until dual matches are played" in the spring, which is the main season. Although only matches played after the New Year affect the team record, every match counts towards individual records.

Beardsley missed the Yale Invitational because, as one of the top two players in the eastern region, he was competing in the National Clay Courts Tournament in Baltimore, MD, in which only the top college players from across the nation.

Beardsley said that he was "pretty disappointed" in his performance, but added that, "national tournaments are tough. I was playing pretty well, but I wasn't `match tough.' But it's good to go to those [tournaments] and get the experience. I can play at that level."

"We look a lot stronger than in my first two years," Dorato said of the team. "There is a more focused attitude now."

He was, however, surprised by the strength of play he has seen from some Harvard, Temple, and Providence players. "Our region is getting a lot stronger, too. But I think we'll be right in there," Dorato said.

Players and coaches heralded the contributions of the three freshmen on the team. "We have really strong freshman recruits that will make a great impact," Beynet said. According to Dorato, "Greg Royce, SY '01, and Scott Carlton, JE '01, are very close, about number six and number seven, and also close to the guys above them. They both could have a chance to move up. They will start in doubles together."

Both freshmen won their divisions at Swarthmore and Warnken said they are "solid" players. According to Dorato, Matt Chang, SY '01, will not be starting, but will be expected to contribute as "a good doubles player." Warnken also credited returning players with improvements made over the summer, especially Ryan Smith, PC '00, who "came back playing much better this year" and is currently the fifth singles player.

"We've had some mixed results in the past few weeks," Warnken admitted. "This weekend is a pretty big test, so hopefully we can come back with good news."

After the ECAC tournament, the team will continue to raise money for a winter break tour, as it will celebrate the New Year with the women's team on an eleven-day tour of exhibition matches in Hong Kong.

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